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63261

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the conduct of the current census in Burma and the extent to which this has been affected by recent violence and rising ethnic tensions.
tabling member constituency	Belfast East
tabling member printed	Naomi Long
uin	201776
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2014 answer text <p>Reports from independent international observers of the census suggest that, with the exception of Rakhine State and parts of Kachin State, the enumeration process appears to have been largely carried out effectively. We continue to monitor the process closely. There has not been a census in Burma for 30 years, and this census will provide a vital source of data to inform better government service delivery.</p><p>We are concerned by reports of the census being used as a pretext for one incident of localised violence in Kachin State. However, we do not believe that there is a link between the census and recent violence elsewhere in Kachin. Conflict in Kachin State has been ongoing for almost three years, and the challenges of census data collection in the area reflected the continued lack of trust on the ground. We continue to support strongly government and ethnic group efforts to reach a sustainable peace, through a ceasefire and political dialogue that can help bring an end to human rights abuses in ceasefire areas.</p><p>Similarly our assessment is that recent violence in Rakhine has been caused by underlying intercommunal tensions that have previously led to violence there. We were deeply disappointed that, in the case of the Rohingya, the Burmese government contravened its long-standing assurance that all individuals would have the right to self-identify their ethnic origin in the census. We have been clear that this decision is contrary to international norms and standards on census conduct. I summoned the Burmese Ambassador to make these points.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 26/06/2014 11:47:52 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	3920 label Biography information for Naomi Long

63263

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether there is a causal link between the census in Burma and the violence currently taking place in that country.
tabling member constituency	Belfast East
tabling member printed	Naomi Long
uin	201777
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2014 answer text <p>Reports from independent international observers of the census suggest that, with the exception of Rakhine State and parts of Kachin State, the enumeration process appears to have been largely carried out effectively. We continue to monitor the process closely. There has not been a census in Burma for 30 years, and this census will provide a vital source of data to inform better government service delivery.</p><p>We are concerned by reports of the census being used as a pretext for one incident of localised violence in Kachin State. However, we do not believe that there is a link between the census and recent violence elsewhere in Kachin. Conflict in Kachin State has been ongoing for almost three years, and the challenges of census data collection in the area reflected the continued lack of trust on the ground. We continue to support strongly government and ethnic group efforts to reach a sustainable peace, through a ceasefire and political dialogue that can help bring an end to human rights abuses in ceasefire areas.</p><p>Similarly our assessment is that recent violence in Rakhine has been caused by underlying intercommunal tensions that have previously led to violence there. We were deeply disappointed that, in the case of the Rohingya, the Burmese government contravened its long-standing assurance that all individuals would have the right to self-identify their ethnic origin in the census. We have been clear that this decision is contrary to international norms and standards on census conduct. I summoned the Burmese Ambassador to make these points.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 26/06/2014 11:53:20 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	3920 label Biography information for Naomi Long

63264

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Interception Warrants
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many interception warrants were (a) issued, (b) declined and (c) cancelled by his Department under (i) section 8(1) and (ii) section 8(4) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in the last six months for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Torbay
tabling member printed	Mr Adrian Sanders
uin	201668
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2014 answer text <p>It is the long standing policy of successive Governments not to comment on matters of intelligence. I would refer the Hon. Member to Section 3 of the 2013 Annual Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner, The Rt Hon. Sir Anthony May, which was presented to Parliament pursuant of Section 58(6) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.</p> answering member constituency Faversham and Mid Kent answering member printed Hugh Robertson question first answered 30/06/2014 11:52:38 answering member 1415 label Biography information for Sir Hugh Robertson
tabling member	237 label Biography information for Mr Adrian Sanders

63069

registered interest
date	20/06/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	India
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on sexual assault of ethnic Chin women and children from Burma in New Delhi, India; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	201663
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2014 answer text <p>We are aware of such reports. We are committed to working with the new Indian government and international partners to address the problem of gender-based violence, human trafficking and child exploitation in India. Through the Department for International Development's (DFID) programmes, we support measures in India's 120 poorest districts to promote the empowerment and access to benefits and services of excluded and vulnerable groups. Through DFID, we also provide support to national and state authorities in India helping girls to complete basic education and further tackling violence against women and girls.</p><p>The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), invited the Indian government to attend the recent Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict and has already discussed the initiative with the new Indian Foreign Minister. The Indian High Commissioner to the UK attended the Summit.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 25/06/2014 16:18:00 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

63070

registered interest
date	20/06/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the accuracy of the report of 9 May 2014 by the James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies that a military factory in Pauk Township of the central Magwe Division, Burma, has some features that are consistent with a chemical plant.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	201667
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2014 answer text <p>The James Martin Centre report states that it is not possible to determine the nature of the facility in question. We are unable to make any further assessments at this stage. <br><br>We have made a concerted effort to encourage Burma to ratify their Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). I raised this most recently with Deputy Foreign Minister U That Kyaw on 12 June. We are working with the OPCW to offer practical support, and the UK National Authority to the CWC has offered to host a Burmese delegation later this year.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 25/06/2014 16:24:34 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

63071

registered interest
date	20/06/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Sudan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to call for the release of Mariam Ibrahim and her son from prison in Sudan and for her death sentence to be revoked.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	201657
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2014 answer text We have repeatedly raised our concerns about this appalling case with the Government of Sudan. The Prime Minister, The Secretary of State for Development and I all issued statements calling for Meriam Ibrahim to be released immediately. We also raised our concerns directly with the Government of Sudan: I highlighted this case in a letter to Presidential Assistant Professor Ghandour; my DFID colleague Lynne Featherstone raised it with the Sudanese Foreign Minister; and our Ambassador in Khartoum has raised it on multiple occasions with other Ministers and senior officials. answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Mark Simmonds question first answered 25/06/2014 10:23:49 answering member 1393 label Biography information for Mark Simmonds
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

61474

registered interest
date	11/06/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Thailand
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the light of reports in The Guardian newspaper on 11 June, they intend to make representations to the government of Thailand about the exploitation and abuse of workers in that country's fishing industry and to United Kingdom companies which purchase the products of that industry.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL252
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2014 answer text <p>We are aware of labour rights issues and allegations of human rights abuses in the Thai fishing industry, though not until now of the specific allegations made by the Guardian. We regularly raise our concerns about labour rights in Thailand with the relevant Thai authorities, for example during the UK-Thailand Strategic Dialogue in May 2013. The Guardian's report contains very serious allegations. We look to the Thai authorities to investigate. <br><br>Given the acute and continual political uncertainty in Thailand our ability to raise these issues with the authorities at this point is limited. However, we take the allegations very seriously and will look for opportunities to raise our concerns. At a minimum, we will continue to press for an improvement in labour rights in Thailand through ongoing negotiations towards an EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement. <br><br>The UK remains a global leader in tackling human trafficking and slavery as shown by its recent introduction of a Modern Slavery Bill. We welcome any investigation which sheds light on these horrific allegations. <br><br>We also launched our action plan on business and human rights in 2013, becoming the first country to set out guidance to companies on integrating human rights into their operations. We engage regularly with British companies as part of our efforts to boost UK trade and inward investment, but at the same time we also clearly set our commitment to protecting human rights and its expectations of UK companies in this area.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 19/06/2014 13:49:05 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

61477

registered interest
date	11/06/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Qatar
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the delay by the British Embassy in Doha in issuing new passports to children born to United Kingdom parents in Qatar; and whether they have held discussions with the local authorities over the law in Qatar under which fines may be imposed on foreign nationals who are not in possession of a passport by the age of two months.
tabling member printed	Lord Jones of Cheltenham
uin	HL255
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2014 answer text <p>The British Embassy in Doha no longer issues passports. We have raised with the Qatari authorities the issue of fines imposed on British nationals without a passport, and are working to find an agreed solution. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is working closely with Her Majesty's Passport Office to overcome any problems that result from a delay in the issuing of British passports. In line with the recent statement on 12 June by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right Hon Friend the Member for Maidenhead, South East (Theresa May), any British nationals facing a problem should consult the Embassy to discuss this – including the alternatives for urgent travel to the UK without a full passport.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 18/06/2014 11:38:48 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	248 label Biography information for Lord Jones of Cheltenham

61485

registered interest
date	11/06/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Western Sahara
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what efforts they are making in respect of Morocco's international human rights obligations in regard to the citizens of Western Sahara; and what steps they have taken in respect of neutralising the Moroccan wall and associated weaponry.
tabling member printed	Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington
uin	HL263
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2014 answer text <p>We encourage concrete progress towards improving human rights in Western Sahara in discussions with the parties to the dispute over the territory, and at the UN Security Council. The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Mr Robertson), discussed human rights in Western Sahara during his visit to Morocco in March. We welcome Morocco's recent commitments to investigate complaints of human rights violations made to the National Council for Human Rights within three months, and to end military tribunal trials for civilians.</p><p> </p><p>Demining teams from the UN peacekeeping operation in Western Sahara (MINURSO), the Moroccan Army and Polisario continue to co-operate to clear unexploded ordnance on both sides of the Moroccan wall.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 18/06/2014 11:46:52 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	3733 label Biography information for Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington

61496

registered interest
date	11/06/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Israel
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office-sponsored report, Children in Military Custody, on Israeli interrogation methods of Palestinian children; and what follow-up to the report they intend to undertake.
tabling member printed	Baroness Tonge
uin	HL274
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2014 answer text <p>The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Mr Robertson), wrote to the Israeli Attorney General on 31 March 2014 to welcome the steps taken to date and to call for further measures, including the mandatory use of audio-visual recording of interrogations, investigation into continued reports of single hand ties being used, and an end to solitary confinement for children. These were key UK recommendations at Israel's Universal Periodic Review session at the UN Human Rights Council on 29 October 2013.</p><p> </p><p>A progress report published in October 2013 by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) indicates that Israel has taken some positive steps towards addressing the recommendations in the report. These include: the introduction of legal obligations to inform the child's parents of an arrest and grant them legal status to be represented in court, as well as to notify minors of their legal rights; and standard operating procedures on methods of restraint. The Israeli military are also piloting a new procedure across the West Bank, whereby children are issued a summons to attend a police station in the morning, rather than being arrested at night, in their homes. The UK believes that the report &quot;Children in Military Custody&quot; has helped contribute to these changes in practice.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 18/06/2014 11:46:01 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	200 label Biography information for Baroness Tonge